Tuesday, December 12, 2006

The Soup is On!

We started doing Soup Suppers during Lent the first year of our little church plant. A few years ago, we added Soup Suppers to our Advent season as well. The onions are braising, the beans are simmering with the ham shanks, and two out of three are in a nap. I found a little interesting history about one of my favorite soups:

Senate Bean Soup

￼Bean soup is on the menu in the Senate's restaurant every day. There are several stories about the origin of that mandate, but none has been corroborated. According to one story, the Senate’s bean soup tradition began early in the 20th-century at the request of Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho. Another story attributes the request to Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota, who expressed his fondness for the soup in 1903.

Or, for a little more excitement:

Legend has it that in the early 1900s powerful House Speaker Joseph Cannon came in for lunch one day, looked at the menu, didn’t see bean soup listed, and exclaimed, “Thunderation, I had my mouth set for bean soup. From now on, hot or cold, rain, snow, or shine, I want it on the menu everyday.” And, so it is. Every day of the week, every month of the year, Senate Bean Soup is on the menu at all 11 Capitol dining rooms.

1 Comments:

Wow. I never knew a humble thing like Bean Soup could have such a history. If I had been senator, I would have asked for, say, the head of a pig simmered in red wine from Bali. But bean soup? What kind of man can eat whatever he wants and asks for bean soup?! How unimaginative.